Hungry Shoppers

When people's appetites are stimulated, they tend to make choices based on
immediate gratification rather than long term gain, studies at the National
University of Singapore have found. Marketing researcher Xiuping Li had 36 women answer hypothetical questions, including whether or not they would buy an expensive, unnecessary item on a tight budget. Half of the subjects were exposed to the smell of cookies from a hidden scented candle—and 67 percent of them, versus 17 percent of the rest, said they would engage in extravagant spending. Similarly, people exposed to images of food were more likely than others to say they would prefer to win a
smaller amount of money now rather than a lot more later. Although all this implies
that it's wise to avoid shopping or making important decisions while smelling or seeing appetizing food, the effect might be lessened by consciously thinking about a long-term goal, Li speculates.